# Attending Help

elizabethes

My wedding isn't unti 2/23/2013, but the budget hasn't and will not change it is $5,000 for everything from attire, to food, gas (from kansas to ohio and back), accomodations, etc. I have gone through the list of who will be invited and have estimated about 130 being invited. Here is my situation:

About 30 of them live in the city where the wedding is.

About 65 of them are from another state (Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, etc), but they are relatives.

The remaining 35 are friends. Majority live 2.5 hours away while a couple live in another state.

I am counting on the 30 that live in the same city to attend. I know about 15 of the 60 will for sure be there. The friends, I assume 25 of the 30 will attend at least.

Here is the problem - I am thinking no more than 90 may show up becuase it will be winter, a lot of those people have younger kids and it's not a 3 day weekend for them.
 
I am just unsure if this is accurate. Does anyone have a good idea of what I may count on? I know you don't know the family, but maybe from experience and such?

Thank you!

MyNameIsNot

You always plan for 100% yes.  Most people have somewhere between 60-95% show up, but you never know.  If you plan for 100%, you won't get screwed if the unexpected happens.

zitiqueen

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_attending-help?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:14Discussion:15b2a120-ce00-4f93-a57a-4a0ff68244bePost:64b641b8-5746-4e2f-9ce9-f9d8c41c5c7c"># Attending Help</a>:
[QUOTE]My wedding isn't unti 2/23/2013, but the budget hasn't and will not change it is $5,000 for everything from attire, to food, gas (from kansas to ohio and back), accomodations, etc. I have gone through the list of who will be invited and have estimated about 130 being invited. Here is my situation: About 30 of them live in the city where the wedding is. About 65 of them are from another state (Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, etc), but they are relatives. The remaining 35 are friends. Majority live 2.5 hours away while a couple live in another state. I am counting on the 30 that live in the same city to attend. I know about 15 of the 60 will for sure be there. The friends, I assume 25 of the 30 will attend at least. Here is the problem - I am thinking no more than 90 may show up becuase it will be winter, a lot of those people have younger kids and it's not a 3 day weekend for them.   I am just unsure if this is accurate. Does anyone have a good idea of what I may count on? I know you don't know the family, but maybe from experience and such? Thank you!
Posted by elizabethes[/QUOTE]

Plan for 100% attendance. Better to be safe than sorry.

mbody

budget and plan for 100% attendance. You don't want to screw yourself over if everyone does attend.

TiffannieF

I also agree with the 'plan for 100% attendance'. 

We invited 125 and 105 RSVP's.  2 couples RSVP'd no because we could not accomedate children, the other 18 were our single friends who didn't bring a date.  100 ended up showing at the wedding.

achiduck

You really have to plan and budget for 100 % attendance. What happens if you only budget for 90 and and 120 show up?

JaxInBlue

Agreed.  You plan and budget as if 100% will show.  We invited 197 and had 129 there day of.  We know we would have some people choose not to attend as we got married the weekend after Thanksgiving, but we still counted on everyone just in case. 

We did have some extras for things that had to be settled before the RSVP deadline (favors, DIY programs, etc.) but we were also able to move money to more appetizers and drinks, and put money back in savings when we had less than 100% attend.

AMYM312

I agree with the PP Btw we are date twins! 2-23-13!!